Pneumatic action.



H. MEYER.

PNEUMATIC ACTION.

APPLICATION PI YLBD SBPT.13, 1907.

WITNESSES jmmd r6 ATTQRNE rs PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

ZSHBETS-SKEET 1. I

No. 882,402, PATENTED MAR. 17, 1908.

H. MEYER. PNEUMATIC ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.13, 1907.

2 sknnrrs-snnizx 2.

W/TNESSES INVENTOI? Nor882y402.

- "HE'RMANNL MEYER, onnnwroax, N. Y.

" rnnuma'rro Lemon.

I Specification of Letters Patent. ;Application.fl1ad; September 1a, 190-: .Serial in. 302,740.

Patented March 17 11 908.

Tacll whom it-may concern:

Be itknownthat YI,\'HERMANN: MEYER, a.

citizen-t the-United-States,- anda resident of.

mthe city of N ew-York, borough of the Bronx,

in the county and State of New York, have invented a-new and Improved! Pneumatic Action, of which the following is 'a'full, clear,

and exact description.

ments and its object is to provide anewland improved neumatic aetionarranged to in- 1 sure. a-quic response of the pneumaticwhenever atracker board openmg is uncovered orv covered up by the noteshcet, to reduce un-v due fluttering ofthe dia hragm and to allowconvenient access for a justmg the. worklng and whi'c will be more fully describedhereinafter and thenpointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment-of the invention is represented in the, accompanying .drawings forming a part of this specification, in which .similar;characters of reference. indicate corres onding parts in all the'views.

igure 11s a cross section of the improvement showing the valve open to the -atmos-:

phere and closed to the suctionchamber, the

. pneumatic being inflated Fig. 2is. alike view of. the same showingthe valve in an: inter- 1 mediate positiolnsthat is, partly .o en to the atmosphere and partly open to t e suction chambennthe pneumatic being. partly col-v valve closed to the; suctionkchamber and.

v partly open to the:atmosphere, the pne'u-- matic bem completely collapsed; Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the valve seat open to the atmosphere, and Fig. 6 is a sectionalelevation of the same on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

The pneumatic A has its fixed member A attached to a support B,. and the movable member A of the pneumatic A is connected at its free end by a rod C with the piano action or the strikers, to be actuated by the pneumatic action. A. felted or a cushioned sto A is attached to the fixed member A iwit 'n the pneumatic A, to limit the closing movement of the movable member A and'to cushion the same.

The fixed member A" and the movable {arts and-:combinations of-thc same,..

i member A :of the pneumatic A are provided -'.With. oppositely disposed .valve .seats D and E, respectively, of which. the .valves'eat E leads .to-the atmosphere'and the valveseat D leads to the SUGlLIOILrChBJIlbGI' F connected with the wind chest G from-which the air is exhausted: by the [usual air-exhausting devices; Between.the valvezseats Dnand is The invention relates to =self-players-, self-.2 playing pianos and like .musical :instru-.

chamber J connected by aktube K-withan opening in the tracker board otthe instrument.

On the stem H is secured a button H at- 1 .tached centrally to. the flexible face H 'of the valve H, so that the valve H moves with the stern but is yieldingly mounted. there.on, -the gluideway E 'orming .part of the valve seat The leaksconnectionbetween the chamber Eand J is by the use of a leak hole L, as .plainly indicated inFigs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

. The valve H has its upper face H made of felt or other. suitable material, and on the. to of the. said. face H issecured thebutton IT in which screws-the stem H ot-the valve. The facing H of the valve is attached to a rin H' -of wood or other material, covered at its. ower or finder. side by a facing H of felt on other material. The facing H js adapted to be. seatedontthe valve. seat Bend the facing H isadapted to be seated on the valve valve H in the manner described .it is' evi- -,dent that the valve is yieldin lyfheld on the stem as the facing H -is: ca 'abfe-of-yielding to insure proper seating oft I e "valve H onthe valve seat E, as hereinafter. more fully cirplained and shown in Fig. 3.

WVhen the several parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the pneumatic Ais inflated or in an open positionfand the valve H is held to its seat D to disconnect the suo-' tion chamber Efrem the interior of the pneuway of the uncovered valve seat E. Now when an aperture in the note .sheet regisact on the top of the diaphragm I, thus forcmg the same downward andjwith it the stem ters with the tracker board opening, then air.

asses from the said tracker board opening y way of a tube K into the chamber J, to

tweent e suction chamber Fand the. air

. stem H bein guided at its lower end in a seat E, and by mounting the stem on the matic A, now open to the atmosphere; by

H whereby the valve H is moved off its seat D (see Fig. 2), to connect the interior of the to the diaphragm I and in the valve, and

pneumatic A with the suction chamber F. Vhen this takes place air is drawn out of the pneumatic A and consequently the latter collapses, that is, the movable member A swings upward towards the downwardly moving valve H, so that the seat E finally moves in engagement with the under face H of the valve H, to close the valve seat E, as plainly indicated in Fig. 3. The neumatic A now collapses fully and remains in this position until the note sheet opening disconnects from the tracker board opening. The interior of the pneumatic A is now disconnected from the suction chamber F and open to the atmosphere. When this takes place, air from the chamber J is drawn by way of the leakopening L into the suction chamber F, so that the ressure on top ofthe diaphragm I is re uced and the diaphragm I now returns to its original position (see Fig. 4). When this takes place the valve H is reseated on the seat D and moved oii the seat E, and atmospheric air now passes into the pneumatic A, to inflate and open the same.

By yieldingly mounting the valve H on its stem H the valve can readily assume an angular position relative'to the valve stem H, so that when the movable member A of the pneumatic A moves upward on collapsing the pneumatic, then the portion of the valve seat E nearest the hinge end of the pneumatic first engages the corresponding side of the facing H and tilts the valve 11 relative to the valve stem for the whole facing to then meet the valve seat E on the upward swinging movable member A of the pneumatic.

The valve seats I) and E are preferably of metal and are located as near as possible to the hinge end of the pneumatic so that the movement of the valve is reduced to a minimum, a further reduction of the movement guiding the stem in the guideway E fluttering of the diaphragm I is prevented at the time air passes into the chamber J from the tracker boardf By making the stem H in the form of a screw rod and extending the lower end thereof to the outside, the stem ll 'an be readily turned and screwed up or down in the valve H and the diaphragm l, to properly adjust the latter when too tight or too loose.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A pneumatic action comprising a pneumatic provided with oppositely arranged valve seats in the fixed and movable members of the pneumatiefa diaphragm in alincment with the said valve seats, and a valve adapted to be seated on either valve seat and having its stem screwing in the said diaphragm, the body of the valve being formed of a ring, a dislcshapcd facing of flexible material secured to the said ring on one face thereof, and a button secured centrally to the said facing and in' which screws the said valve stem.

2. A pneumatic action comprising a pneumatic provided with oppositely arranged valve seats in the fixed and movable members of the pneumatic, a diaphragm in alinement with the said valve seats, a valve adapted to be seated on either valve seat and having its stem screwing in the said diaphragm,'the body of said valve being formed of a ring, a disk-shaped facing of llexible material secured to the said ring on one face thereof and a button secured centrally to the said facing and in which screws the said valve stem, and a ring-shaped facing at the other side of the said ring, the said facings being adapted to be seated on th said valve seats.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. NEIL-MANN MEYER. Witnesses:

Tune. (7 llos'rau, Jonx P. DAVIS. 

